


I Am Odilie, I Am Odette

by Saku777



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Gen, although it's onesided, mentions of RusBela
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-19 02:41:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13695189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saku777/pseuds/Saku777
Summary: A drabble for aph Belarus week with the theme being ballet. Belarus sometimes preforms ballet for certain ballet companies. It gives her joy and she enjoys losing herself in the dance and story, however Swan Lake can't help but stir up old memories from her past and conflicted feelings within herself.





	I Am Odilie, I Am Odette

It was always an honor to preform for the Marinskiiy Ballet, it was even better that her brother Russia was in the audience.

Belarus, when she preformed, usually performed for Bolshoi Ballet of Belarus, but occasionally her brother would pull some strings and get her invited to some performances for some of the Russian companies. What part she got didn’t matter to Belarus, simply being there and doing her best was enough. 

This time she got lucky though, as she was selected to preform both Odette and Odilie in Swan Lake. She didn’t always get the big roles which was fine with her, but that didn’t mean she didn’t love getting them though. Swan Lake however brought up complicated feelings and memories. It was true, it was a beautiful ballet with beautiful music and costuming, but performing it and seeing it never was simple.

She didn’t remember the first time she had preformed it, those memories were muddled, though she remembered the first time she saw it and heard the music. Here she was again years later, dancing on stage amidst the mists of the lake in front of Prince Siegfried, who would later betray her, though her Odette was not supposed to know this yet. 

As she danced, graceful and fae-like in front of her prince, surrounded by her beautiful swan maiden subjects Belarus tried to immerse herself in Odette’s soul and plight. Her long lost mother, her slavery to Rothbart and feelings of hopelessness and despair, her distrust of the prince which was now becoming affection, trust, hope, and yes genuine love. However it was not quite so easy, she remembered all too well back when she was in the Soviet Union, how Swan Lake would play during certain periods of time when something tremendous had occurred. 

Sometimes it was a death as in the cases of Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko, when for a time all the television would play was Swan Lake. Or perhaps an upheaval like in the August 1991 coup attempt. Swan Lake always left a feeling of dread, excitement, and expectation in her soul. There was no union now though, only Odette and her feelings towards Siegfried. Still she remembered the past, she didn’t want to think about it. She spotted Russia in the audience and her heart beat and cheeks flushed, it was impossible not to.

Later on during the ballet, as she was dressed in black tutu as Odilie, Belarus thought about what a good role some might consider it for her. Most nations in the west thought of her as harsh and awful, judged her without truly knowing or understanding her, and attempted to use her, like with Odilie. However all she wanted was love, peace, and stability like Odette. However in ways she was more like Odilie too, she thought to herself. Odilie was a witch like her, was ruthless, hard, and cunning like her as well. Meanwhile Odette was foolish for believing in hope and love, for believing in someone else. In addition to all this Odilie’s desires didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was a witch and the larger scheme of her father, and she did what was best and then faded away from the narrative. 

In the end she was Odette once more, and in contrast to Odilie’s sharp, seductive, and harsh yet graceful movements Odette was soft, graceful, waif-like, and sorrowful. As she danced with all the heartbreak her heart could muster and as she pushed her feet and legs to their steely limit Belarus wondered why Odette even forgave Siegfried. These women forgave far too quickly, they were silly things, she concluded. She failed to ask that of herself in regards to many other things, but Belarus was skilled at avoiding difficult questions to herself.

Still, Belarus let Odette’s love win out against her anger and her sorrow as she danced for him perhaps for one final time. At least that’s what Odette thought, Belarus however knew that things would be different. In the end Siegfried would kill Rothbart, save Odette, and both would live happily ever after. It was so after the Soviet Union. Good had to win, because communism had to win. 

Belarus however always preferred the original ending, the one where both lovers committed suicide. It felt more true to life, more true to reality, and oddly enough more truth to what really happened in the Union by it’s end. However like Odilie she had no say in the matter, she simply danced as instructed. Her slender legs were moving here and there and her small feet dancing and clad in satin white shoes moved deftly as her effervescent white tutu floated around her, her flaxen hair done up in braids. She watched her prince save her and she danced with him, happy and in love. Belarus felt in her heart however such a fate would not be hers, it was only a fantasy, a wish, and not the true story of things or of her life.

**Author's Note:**

> Swan Lake has a interesting history within the USSR. More info can be found here,  
> http://hazlitt.net/feature/portentous-composition-swan-lakes-place-soviet-politics


End file.
